CVE-2017-9588 in Mobile Banking App
Summary
by MITRE
The "Oritani Mobile Banking" by Oritani Bank app 3.0.0 -- aka oritani-mobile-banking/id778851066 for iOS does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/18/2019
The CVE-2017-9588 vulnerability affects the Oritani Mobile Banking iOS application version 3.0.0, representing a critical security flaw in the mobile banking ecosystem. This vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS communications, creating a significant attack surface that exposes users to sophisticated man-in-the-middle assaults. The flaw fundamentally undermines the cryptographic security assurances that mobile banking applications must provide to protect sensitive financial data and user credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the application's SSL certificate validation mechanism, which operates outside the established security protocols defined by industry standards such as CWE-295. This weakness specifically manifests as the absence of proper certificate chain validation, allowing attackers to present fraudulent certificates that appear legitimate to the application. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which describes credential harvesting through spearphishing with a link, as the compromised application would enable attackers to intercept and manipulate banking communications. The application's failure to implement certificate pinning or proper certificate validation creates an environment where attackers can establish fraudulent SSL connections without detection.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and confidentiality of mobile banking transactions. Attackers can exploit this weakness to redirect users to malicious servers, capture login credentials, and access sensitive financial information including account balances, transaction histories, and personal identification details. The vulnerability affects the core security model of mobile banking applications, which rely on strong SSL/TLS implementations to establish trust between users and legitimate banking servers. This flaw creates an environment where attackers can seamlessly impersonate legitimate banking services, making it particularly dangerous for financial applications where user trust and security are paramount.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term security improvements. The application developers should implement proper SSL certificate validation including certificate pinning, which is a recommended practice under OWASP Mobile Top 10 M3 and aligns with NIST SP 800-52 guidelines for certificate management. Additionally, the application should incorporate certificate transparency checks and implement robust certificate chain validation that verifies certificate signatures against trusted root authorities. Security measures should also include regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify similar validation flaws, while implementing network monitoring to detect anomalous SSL connection patterns. The fix must ensure that all SSL/TLS communications validate certificate authenticity through proper certificate chain validation, implementing the standard cryptographic verification processes that protect against man-in-the-middle attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security layers such as mutual authentication and secure key management practices to further strengthen the application's defense mechanisms.